For those of you who, like me, have been looking for an AEG sniper rifle that’s a bit more unique than the usual variants that we see, you’ll be pleased to hear that G&G has released a new generation of their SR25. Due to the usual high cost of the SR25, which can often run upwards of 800 dollars for an upgraded one, there aren’t all that many people who own SR25’s. But, they’re gorgeous weapons, and fun replicas, especially because they have a semi-only gearbox, permitting higher velocities at many skirmish sites. Kent at www.airsplat.com was generous enough to send me one of these fine guns to review, as well as to troubleshoot and repair it when it had some unexpected problems burning through fuses and causing me other issues. Anyways, without further ado, the review!

I’m anxiously awaiting the arrival of my SR25, since I’ve wanted an SR25 for ages. The package arrives, and I cut open the outer packaging to reveal yet another gorgeous box from G&G. I happen to really like the G&G packaging, which has a nice American flag motif, which makes me feel very patriotic. So, here’s what we’re looking at:

The gun itself is nicely packaged in a Styrofoam cutout with a couple Styrofoam spacers to keep it in the middle so that it won’t get damaged, which is a very nice touch, since it helps to protect your 410 dollar gun. The gun comes with the usual array of accessories, including a barrel clearing rod, manual, short magazine for SR25, G&G catalogue to drool over, and a few bb’s, along with some rail covers and a Quick Detach (QD) mock suppressor. Here’s what you see when you open the box:

The manual looks very clean, with minimal Engrish, and it clearly explains the operation of the gun for those new players who haven’t used a gun before:

It also includes a speedloader, which is a nice thing to see:

The magazine is nicely detailed and made out of metal, although I would prefer to get a long magazine instead of the short magazine (despite my preference for realcaps, the long magazines just look better). Before anyone asks, they are NOT the same as M4/M16 magazines. Here’s a comparison of an M4 magazine next to the SR25 magazine, which is shorter and fatter:

Real Steel History

The following information is shamelessly taken from world.guns.ru, and edited by yours truly:
“The SR 25 rifle (Stoner Rifle, model 25) was developed by Reed Knight (owner of Knights Armament Co) and Eugene Stoner (designer of M16 and Stoner 63 rifles among other things) during the early 1990s. In essence, the SR 25 was the AR-15 rifle scaled up to shoot 7.62x51 / .308 Win ammunition, with up to 60% of parts of the new rifle being interchangeable with standard AR-15 components. This rifle sold well among civilian shooters who needed an accurate semi-automatic rifle in 7.62 / .308 caliber for hunting or target shooting. This rifle also found favor among the US Military - during early 1990s it was adopted by US Navy SEAL groups, as Mark 11 Model 0 sniper rifle system; use of Mk.11 Mod.0 rifle was later extended to US Marine Corps. Mark 11 Model 0 rifle system included the semi-automatic SR-25 rifle, a quick-detachable sound suppressor, also developed by Knights Armament Co, Leupold Vari-X Mil-dot telescope sight, Harris bipod, 20-round magazines and other necessary accessories. In 2005, a modified version of the SR-25 / Mk.11 rifle won US Army Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle (XM110 SASR) competition, and today it is being issued to US Army snipers, in an attempt to replace venerable M24 Sniper Weapon System. A certain controversy exists about this replacement, as some experts doubt that Knight's semi-automatic XM110 rifle could equal long-range accuracy of the bolt-action M24. However, Knights Armament Co claims that SR-25 is capable of 0.5 MOA accuracy with match ammo, and in the field Mk.11 or XM110 rifle can provide accurate and rapid fire out to 600 meters or even more, depending on particular circumstances and the proficiency of operator. Use of the quick-detachable silencer/sound moderator also has several benefits, the most obvious being concealment of the operator's position, as silencer decreases the sound of gunshot and completely eliminates muzzle flash. Another, less obvious benefit is that the silencer also acts as an effective muzzle brake, decreasing recoil and thus permitting faster follow-up shots.
Military versions of the SR-25, known as Mk.11 Mod.0 (USN / USMC) and XM110 (US Army) have some differences from civilian rifles. First of all, these rifles are fitted with a proprietary sound moderator/silencer quick mount, located on the barrel just in front of the gas block. These rifles also finished to military specifications, and equipped with back-up iron sights (marked up to 600 meters and installed on folding bases). XM110 rifle also features a different buttstock, which is adjustable for length of pull, as well as a different style forend rail system and a flash hider on the barrel. Military rifles are usually issued along with Harris bipod, Leupold variable-power 3.5-10X sniper scope, and a number of other accessories, including soft and hard carrying cases.”

Appearance/Feel/Build Quality

The G&G SR25 is externally and aesthetically gorgeous, especially if you like SR25’s. The detailing is very good, and the build quality is, for the most part, superb. The stock is made out of high quality impact resistant plastic, which is probably high quality nylon fiber rather than ABS. It is large enough to fit a 9.6V large-type battery, or a 10.4V small type battery with an adaptor. The trigger response is plenty good on a 9.6V or even an 8.4V, however, and it’s semi-only, so I don’t see the need for a high voltage battery. It also has a nice metal sling mount on it as well.

The buttplate is made out of nice textured metal, and the battery plate is nicely hinged and does not squeak. It fits neatly against my shoulder, and the texturing prevents slipping. I will remark that I did encounter stock wobble. Tightening in the Phillips screw inside the stock with a long screwdriver, and tightening a nut inside the receiver can remedy this problem.

The grip is also made out of textured nylon-fiber in standard configuration. I happen to think that standard grips are very comfortable, since I’m a lefty, and cannot use sniper grips. The trigger guard can detach in the front and fold down for those winter games when you’re using thick gloves. The grip texturing is the standard diamond pattern stippling, and there are no visible flaws.

The receiver is made out of a nice magnesium alloy, and is nicely detailed with no seam lines. It feels very solid and clean. You’ll also notice that it is significantly longer than an M4/M16 receiver, which is in keeping with the way a real steel receiver should be. The safety switch markings are cleanly engraved and the magazine catch button is textured just like on the real steel.

The safety switch clicks cleanly between Fire and Safe. One thing that I will note is that the magazine catch is held onto the button by friction and a bit of glue. On mine, it loosened and kept popping off if I fired it a lot. I remedied this by gluing it back on with superglue, since it can still be disassembled by unscrewing the button. The trademarks are also cleanly laser engraved, and look very good, although not as good as the G&P. They say: “G&G Armament, GR25 Sniper, 601221” alongside a hardcore Trojan unicorn logo. I don’t know if the serial number is unique, but it’s a nice touch.

The magwell is smooth, and the magazine fits in cleanly. There are no burrs, and the glimpse of the gearbox is pretty impressive. The magazine feeds into the gun smoothly as well.

The charging handle is functional and opens the dust cover to reveal a nice white bolt cover and the hopup. The design is very simple, although it can be a bit of a pain to reassemble. Do not force it back on, or you’ll mess up the spring. The white bolt cover needs to fit onto the guide rod on the left side with the charging handle on top of the cover.

The top rail is a standard Picatinny. It lacks the low profile folding rear sight that you often see on SR25’s, which is unfortunate, because it means that you can’t really use iron sights. I plan on mounting a variable power scope on high-mount rings, so that won’t be a problem. I recommend an M3 replica on G&P see-through 30mm rings.

The handguard is a very solid feeling SR25 RIS replica, made out of metal. It boasts rails for mounting a number of things, including PEQ2 boxes, flashlights, grip-pods, etc. The delta ring is large and solid, and there is absolutely no flex. The detailing is superb, and it looks great.

Now, RIS can be uncomfortable to hold, so G&G has provided 3 rail covers, which are textured, nicely detailed, and marked with G&G trades. They fit onto the rails securely without slipping, and are very comfortable. The result is an SWS (Sniper Weapons System) that is sturdy and wonderful to hold.

The front sight is a low profile flip up sight, although without a rear sight, it’s not very useful. Still, it locks up cleanly, and moves without squeaking.

The G&G SR25 has a full metal one-piece free-floating outer barrel. You will notice that it has a couple grooves just front of the foregrip, which are used to secure the quick detach (QD) suppressor. It’s pretty plain looking, so I will be using the suppressor.

The mock suppressor looks very good with the indents common to SR25 and SOCOM style suppressors. It is purely a mock suppressor, and cannot be modified to alter the sound of the shot. Law enforcement personnel rejoice! It slides on over the outer barrel with the latch down, and locks on by pressing up on the latch:

Finally, the magazine is metal and nicely detailed. It is a short magazine that holds 50 rounds. It is a mid capacity magazine, so it does not need to be wound, nor will it rattle. You can also obtain high-cap magazines for this gun as well. I have not tested other magazines for compatibility, although I will mention that the stock magazine occasionally does not feed unless you press up on the bottom of the magazine. This can be addressed by putting a strip of clear packing tape at the bottom rear of the magazine well.

CAOC Externals Score: 45 out of a possible 50 points.

Internals

The internals of this gun are great. Like on the SR16, the front receiver pin doesn't come out all the way; just enough to remove the receiver, so there’s no need to worry about losing it. Also, it doesn't fold up like a plastic receiver gun, it slides forward. Once you've removed the front receiver pin, you can pull off the upper receiver and access the hopup and inner barrel.

The inner barrel is made out of brass, and has a stock inner diameter of 6.035mm. Like all new generation G&G guns, it comes with a high quality stock tightbore, so there’s no need to upgrade the barrel. The hopup bucking is decent, but I think it could take a harder bucking for the stock power.

Okay, so now let's turn to the gearbox. G&G has done a great job, as usual. First, the gearbox is a REINFORCED gearbox, which means you don't need an upgrade replacement shell. This one is great. Next, it's got 7mm ball bearing metal bushings, which means you also don't need to replace the bushings either! I’m very pleased with G&G’s work on the internals.

Okay, so now we unscrew the 8 Torx screws and open up the gearbox. The internals look great too. It's perfectly shimmed, and comes with high quality steel gears, a metal bearing spring guide, and what appears to be a polycarbonate piston. It's clear that G&G has gone to great lengths to ensure that you don't need to do much, if anything in the way of upgrades. This gun is basically perfect out of the box, and can probably support spring upgrades without much else either. The motor is a good quality 25000 rpm high torque motor, and works great also. The stock spring is supposed to be an M110, although mine shoots at 400+ fps, so it’s probably an M120. Good times, eh?

CAOC Internals Score: 41 out of a possible 50 points.

Function

You guessed it, it's pretty straightforward, as always. Insert the (filled) magazine, making sure that it locks nicely into place. Work the charging handle (you don't have to, but it's cool). Remove it from safe, point at target, and pull trigger. If you're set on semi, keep pulling the trigger until you hit your target (hopefully that means you only fired once). If you're on full auto, hold down to rock and roll. But you better have known that already, plus, it's in the manual. When you're done firing, set it to safe, and remove the magazine. You may want to unsafe it and fire a few times to clear the chamber, and then re-safe it, especially if you plan on disassembling it. Okay, so how does it perform?

Performance

The first chrono result was very surprising, since it is advertised as shooting around 330 fps. Instead, it’s kicking out 407 averaged over 10 shots, and is easily can-bottom capable. I expect it to settle a bit, but it’s clearly got an M120 in it. Definitely pleased about that. Accuracy is very good as well, with it’s long barrel, it is capable of similar accuracy to a bolt-action rifle. Effective range is probably around 180 feet, maybe 200, with .25’s being the best ammunition that I used. Overall, it’s a solid DMR right out of the box, which is about what I was looking for in this gun.

Accessories & Modications

The SR25 is chock full of rails, so you can install a wide variety of accessories, including PEQ2 boxes, grips and bipods, lasers, flashlights, etc. You can also mount a wide variety of sighting devices, including folding BUIS and scopes. Because it’s an AR, you’ll want hi-mount rings. I’ve installed an M3 scope on a hi-mount, and an SRC Harris Bipod, which fits on great, although it was a bit challenging to get it on there, and took some ingenuity.

This gun is available from a variety of G&G authorized resellers. Be sure to get only a generation 4. Airsplat has the newest version for 410 USD shipped to your door, and also offers a warranty. I actually took full advantage of the warranty, as mine had a number of problems. The SR25 seems to be one of the more problematic of the G&G guns, and still needs some work (after talking to other retailers as well, they need some work done to them in many cases), but the problems are generally easy to fix, and it’s great out of the box.

CAOC Overall Rating: 86 out of a possible 100.

CAOC VPC Rating (Value Per Cost): .310

The Final Word

At the end of the day, despite all of the problems that I’ve had with this gun, I love it to death. It’s got more potential to be great out of the box or with minimal work than either the G&P or the CA versions, although it’s still a bit finicky. It’s an absolutely gorgeous airsoft replica. It does have a few issues that may need to be addressed, and, because it’s not a full-auto gearbox, it may lock up if you fire too quickly. I’d love to see a spring detensioner built into the selector switch for future versions (like G&G used to do with their M14’s), and for it to come stock with the long magazine and a rear sight. I’d also suggest getting a heavy duty fuse to replace the stock one, as mine burned through 3 fuses before I bought a replacement one. Overall, however, it’s a great gun, and I’m very pleased with the stock performance. It looks and performs great, and is an excellent alternative for those looking for SR25’s. It makes a great DMR out of the box, even if it’s not yet perfect.